Research finds ‘notable increase’ in wellbeing of Scots

Scotland has seen a “notable increase” in overall wellbeing, a major new survey has suggested.

Research by the policy foundation Carnegie UK found people in Scotland are now “slightly more likely to have a higher collective wellbeing score than the UK overall”.

The 2025 study also found trust in the UK Government amongst Scots has improved in the last year, but more than half of those it questioned have “low trust” in it.

Carnegie’s research found 52% of people in Scotland have “low trust in the UK Government” – but that this is up eight percentage points from 2024.

More than a third (36%) of those questioned have “low trust in the Scottish Government” – with the report noting this is “significantly lower ” than the corresponding level for Sir Keir Starmer’s administration.

However with just over a third (34%) of people in Scotland reporting low trust in their local council, the report said overall that the “democratic wellbeing of people in Scotland has remained incredibly low”.

With a score of 40 out of 100 for this, Carnegie said: “Democratic wellbeing in Scotland has not increased in line with the improvements seen this year in England.”

It said the Scottish Government “continues to be more trusted than the UK Government”, but “unlike for the UK Government there have been no significant improvements in trust in the devolved Government”.

Carnegie said: “While trust in the UK Government has improved and trust in the devolved Government remains unchanged, trust in local councils is deteriorating.”

Democratic wellbeing was one of four areas considered when looking at overall wellbeing – with social, economic and environmental wellbeing also factored in.

Carnegie said the research, which it has carried out every year since 2023, should help governments and other decision-makers “focus their attention on the things that really matter to people”.

More than 7,100 people across the UK took part in the 2025 study, including 1,035 in Scotland.

With Scotland achieving an overall wellbeing score of 63 out of 100 for this year – up from 62 in 2024 and 61 in 2023 – Carnegie UK chief executive Sarah Davidson said: “This is the first time we have seen a notable increase in the score, with it having increased by at least a point a year since 2023, indicating some encouraging improvements in overall collective wellbeing.

“People in Scotland are now slightly more likely to have a higher collective wellbeing score than the UK overall.”

She said overall economic wellbeing in Scotland had “significantly improved since 2023″, rising from 69 then to 72 in 2025.

Ms Davidson continued: “The social wellbeing score for Scotland is 75, and environmental wellbeing is now 66. Both scores remain higher than the UK average.”

However the research found that as deprivation increases, collective wellbeing decreases, with the report highlighting “people living in the most deprived areas have a collective wellbeing score of 56, 12 points lower than those in the least deprived areas”.

Carnegie also said being disabled is “strongly associated with lower wellbeing”

Disabled people have a collective wellbeing score of 56, with this coming in 10 points lower than those who have no disabilities.

People aged 55 and above had a higher overall wellbeing score (67 out of 100) than younger Scots in the 16 to 34 age range, whose collective score was seven points lower.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those with a household income of more than £100,000 a year had a higher wellbeing score than those with a household income of less than £26,000 – with scores of 70 and 58 respectively.

Those living in social housing had a collective wellbeing score of 50, with this 16 points lower than it was for homeowners.

People in rural areas had a collective wellbeing score of 68, which was seven points higher than it was for those living in urban areas.

Ms Davidson said: “Next year’s Holyrood elections are an opportunity for Scotland’s political parties to make real progress in closing the national wellbeing gap.

“Many of the greatest challenges the country faces – like working with communities to build back up deprived neighbourhoods – cannot be fixed in a year or even an electoral term.

“There’s an opportunity for the next administration to build systems and processes which join up government action to tackle the gross inequalities and widespread poverty we all see every day.

“Underpinning this approach should be efforts to regularly and systematically measure the wellbeing of the people of this country.”

Stephen Boyd, director of the think tank IPPR Scotland, said the research contains “a number fascinating and revealing insights which should be of huge interest and concern to all Scotland’s politicians”.

Mr Boyd said: “It is encouraging that the index has seen a modest uptick in wellbeing, but the findings on trust in politics and government reflect deep-seated views that politics is failing to deliver on the public’s priorities.

“The results confirming low levels of wellbeing amongst disabled people and in deprived neighbourhoods reflects the ongoing failure of both UK and Scottish governments to tackle longstanding inequalities.

“It is essential that manifestos for next year’s Scottish elections bring forward credible policy agendas for remedying these failures.”

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “I welcome this report and while it shows there have been improvements to people’s wellbeing this year, I recognise there’s much more to do.

“That’s why we are delivering our cost-of-living guarantee, including ongoing free prescriptions, eye exams, bus travel for 2.3 million people, free tuition for students and more than £6,000 in early learning and childcare support for each eligible child, as well as progressing vital work to scrap the UK Government’s punitive two-child cap.

“I’m proud that our efforts are making a difference. On average, households with children in the poorest 10% of households are estimated to be £2,600 a year better-off in 2025-26 as a result of Scottish Government policies.

“This value is projected to grow to an average of £3,700 a year by 2029-30. And Scotland remains the only part of the UK where child poverty rates fell in the last year.

“But our progress is being hampered by the UK Government’s welfare reforms, its commitment to the two-child limit, which pulls 109 children in the UK into poverty every day, and the benefit cap. I will continue to press the UK Government to scrap the limit and cap, and to reverse its welfare reforms.”